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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650741">Soulbound</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningFox6/pseuds/BurningFox6'>BurningFox6</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reunion [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Soul (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Continuation, Does it count as rebirth if this is her first life, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Heartwarming, Rebirth, Reunions, Shhhhh don't ask</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningFox6/pseuds/BurningFox6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Every unborn soul gets to live eventually. But sometimes, there’s a queue. It could take awhile before enough babies are born for you to get your turn. And this fact, by chance, leads to a lovely little reunion…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe Gardner/Lisa (Soul 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reunion [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soulbound</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <b>Finally got the chance to check out Soul recently, it's pretty good! But I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering what became of 22. Well, an idea came to mind, and so I wrote this to show that maybe her and Joe can meet again in an unexpected way.</b>
</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The second happiest day of his life had been getting to play at the Half Note. Not just because it fulfilled a lifelong dream, but because it helped him realize there was far more to life than that dream. It also helped him meet an interesting little spirit that he refused to ever forget.</p><p>The first happiest day was the day his daughter was born.</p><p>Not too long after Twenty-two had teased him mercilessly about his lack of a love life, he finally considered taking her advice. Giving Lisa a call had taken even more courage than standing up to his mother had, but it could’ve gone worse. Sure, he’d made an absolute fool of himself… but she’d thought it was cute. It must’ve gone much better than he expected, because here she was now – holding their newborn little girl in her arms, the light of a new day filtering over them through the hospital window. </p><p>So small, so delicate, so full of life. Little hands getting used to a new world… and moving almost as if she’d used them before. Eyes so deep blue they almost looked purple. She was perfect. She was their child. Somehow, he still couldn’t believe it.</p><p>…And yet, something felt… off. When he looked into her newly opened eyes and she looked back, there was a little spark. A spark beyond the bond of a parent and their new kid. It was more like… recognition.</p><p>“What’s wrong, baby?”</p><p>Lisa must’ve caught him staring blankly, and Joe shook himself right out of it. “Hey now, that’s the baby,” he joked. “…Nah, I’m fine. Just a little emotional, ya know?</p><p>She knew. She smiled back at him, holding the baby closer. She was emotional too. The difference was, she was ecstatic, so happy she could cry. And hey, he was too! But he was also… confused.</p><p>Why she had looked at him like she knew him already? Girl’d literally just arrived on this planet moments ago. One idea came to mind, involving one spunky little spirit from back in the past. But no, that was impossible. Twenty-two had gone down to start life on Earth a long while ago. She would’ve been born over a year before now. It was a nice little thought, but a nonsensical one. He quickly dismissed it.</p><p>And yet, he couldn’t help but wonder how so many souls could fall down to Earth and all have a body waiting for them. What happened when they had to wait their turn…?</p><p>“So what’re we going to call her?” Lisa asked, drawing him out of his thoughts again.</p><p>Joe thought it over. He wanted to give a little shout-out to his old friend, but you didn’t name a kid after a number unless you wanted them to get bullied at school. And, well, everywhere else. That idea was out. So he just offered a little name he’d always thought sounded pretty.</p><p> “How about… Casey?”</p>
<hr/><p>“Ah, hell… Joe! Joe, come here!”</p><p>He looked up from the piano, drawn out of the zone as his latest composition ground to a halt. Lisa sounded distressed, but not urgent, so he took a brief moment to pray she wasn’t upset with him before he ran off to find her.</p><p>When he did, she was crouched down by their daughter on the floor, holding her head. His heart finally stopped racing when he saw no one was hurt. He knew Casey had been teething and the nonstop crying had stressed them out, but at a glance her shout seemed a bit unnecessary.</p><p>“Sooooo… what’s the problem?” he asked.</p><p>“Casey’s teeth are finally coming.”</p><p>Once the news sank in, Joe breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great!” With the teething finally coming to an end, maybe their nights would be a little less sleepless. But his wife didn’t seem to think so.</p><p>“No it ain’t! Look closer…”</p><p>And so he did. He stooped low while Lisa gently pried open their daughter’s little mouth. He could spot the problem pretty quickly. The pearly whites were coming in nice and orderly… except in the center. The two in the upper front were jutting out farther than the rest, slightly meshed together in a big buck tooth.</p><p>“Huh…” he murmured, scratching his head.</p><p>And that’s when it hit him.</p><p>Once more that familiar gleam sparked in the baby’s eyes, and if she could talk she’d probably be asking if he felt that weird vibe too. “Twenty-two?” he wondered aloud.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>He fumbled, trying to come up with an excuse for his wife. “I said… twenty tooth! ‘Cause those two teeth are so big they might as well be twenty! …Geddit?”</p><p>She looked at him like he’d gone insane. And maybe he had. But she knew her husband could be weird, so she bought it. “No need to be rude to her…”</p><p>He just smirked. “This is why I’m not a comedian, hon.” That got a chuckle out of her. He could be funny, in his own way. But he couldn’t bring himself to laugh with her, because his mind was reeling. How was this possible? Did the Jerrys do him a solid? Or did the two of them win the cosmic lottery? Or maybe the unborn soul had somehow had a say in where she ended up? Whichever way, he was thanking his lucky stars.</p><p>Did Twenty-two remember? It was hard to tell when she couldn’t speak. Maybe some day, he’d find out. And if not, maybe he’d tell her. Or maybe he’d keep it to himself. All he knew for sure was he was gonna try even harder to be the greatest father ever. Really help her find her spark. Because she wasn’t just his child. She was his friend.</p><p>“What’re we gonna do, Joe?” Lisa cut in. “Just born and she’s already gonna need braces, what a mess… one big, expensive mess.”</p><p>He had the dumbest grin on his face. His daughter did, too. “Good thing we don’t need ‘em, then. I think she’s beautiful just the way she is.”</p>
<hr/><p>Six years came and went. Their little girl was growing up as vivid and full of wonder as she had been on her first trip to Earth. As far as he could tell, she still didn’t remember. And for now, he was keeping it that way.</p><p>Of course, she could be uncooperative and tiring sometimes. But at the end of the day, when her two parents could look down at her sleeping in her bed, everything in the universe just felt right.</p><p>Like right now, for instance. She’d refused to hit the hay until Joe had promised to take her somewhere new and exciting tomorrow. After that, she’d passed out quickly with an eager grin on her face. Almost jealous, Lisa turned to him.</p><p>“How <i>do</i> you do it, Joe Gardner? She’s a little tornado of energy, but she always listens to you.”</p><p>He had a guess why they got along so well. But she’d never believe the truth. “Dunno. Maybe I’m just lucky?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <b>Just a short little bonus…</b>
</p><p> </p><p>  <b>“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it!”</b></p><p>  <b>“Isn’t Mom the one who’s supposed to say that?”</b></p><p>  <b>“Yeah, well I did it literally!”</b></p></blockquote></div></div>
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